What was it like recovering from a severe facial injury (she reportedly needed over 40 stitches!) when your face is seen by millions every year??

In the new issue of Redbook, the Before He Cheats singer opened up about her accident and more, saying:

“A lot happened in 2017 during my ‘off year.’ I love it when people say, ‘You took a year off.’ I’m like, ‘You know, I had this shoot and this thing, and I was writing this and doing that.’ There was always so much to do, but it was also a very soul-searching year for me.”

When asked what prompted the “soul-searching,” she said:

“There were some personal things that happened. And I had the accident and all of that to get through … and just life. Life is full of ups and downs, and I might have had a few more downs than ups last year.”

On that big down, the falling down and subsequent scar, Carrie said:

“Any time someone gets injured, it looks pretty bad in the beginning, and you’re like, ‘What is this going to wind up like?’ You just don’t know. It was also a perception thing, because I look at myself [now] and I see it quite a bit, but other people are like, ‘I wouldn’t have even noticed.’ Nobody else looks at you as much as you think they do. Nobody notices as much as you think they will, so that’s been nice to learn.”

On the rumors of plastic surgery, she quipped:

“I’m on some magazine every other week for something crazy. It’s a little sad, because the truth is just as interesting. I wish I’d gotten some awesome plastic surgery to make this [scar] look better. But I try not to worry too much about it. My mom will be like, ‘Did you see they are saying this about you?’ And I’ll be like, ‘Mama, I don’t care. I’m just trying to raise my son and live my life.'”